Behind the Mirror
by Queenofstrawberries
Summary: Everyone thought Fred Weasley was dead, that is, until his body changed into Amycus Carrow's. Hermione and George are frantic to find out what happened to Fred, and Hermione wonders whether she loves Ron after all.


**A/N: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter but I had a lot of fun using the character. Thanks for reading! ^_^**

**x**

There was silence in the Ravenclaw Tower as a war waited to break throughout Hogwarts. Amycus Carrow struggled against the silver rope which simultaneously bound him to his sister and prevented his escape. The rope grew tighter still the more he fought against it, and yet, he managed to pull out the wand hidden within his robes (which he had confiscated from a first year student earlier that day). He was glad of the Dark Lord's insistence that his followers learn to resist the Imperius curse, or he would've handed the wand over to Minerva McGonagall along with the other two; she had been surprisingly easy to fool.

Despite the strength of McGonagall's spell, after a few tries the rope slid, gleaming and lifelessly, to the floor. Amycus then turned to his sister who - although freed - was still unconscious, ignorant of the fate that waited for her (and himself) if they failed to hand Harry Potter over to the Dark Lord.

'_Rennervate__,__' _he said quietly – he wouldn't put it past McGonagall to post a guard nearby.

Alecto's eyes flew open at once. 'Amycus,' she said in a hoarse voice as her eyes darted nervously about the room. He watched as her expression morphed into a look of pure terror when she realised the danger they faced. 'What'll we do?' she rasped. 'The Dark Lord... he... he...'

'He won't do nothin' as long as we hand him Potter.' Amycus failed to keep the fear from leaking into his voice. 'I say we split up and find him.'

Alecto nodded her head, still wide-eyed, and allowed her brother to pull her to her feet. 'We have to get to Potter first,' Amycus said, managing to sound stern. 'Don't let _no one _get in the way.'

Alecto nodded once more as they cautiously exited Ravenclaw Tower. To their surprise they met no resistance once outside, and were able to safely part ways at the end of the staircase.

x

Fred, George and Lee Jordan made their way through the corridors, assigning guards to the secret passageways of Hogwarts as they went. They were finally headed towards the last one - a statue which concealed a particularly large passageway – when it occurred to Fred that they had left one unguarded.

'What about the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor?' he said at the same time as George.

'It's unlikely that Death Eater's would come through there, but still,' said George.

'It'd be stupid to leave it unguarded,' finished Fred.

'You go,' said Fred suddenly, as he elbowed George.

'No, you go,' said George as he elbowed Fred.

'Why don't you use that Muggle game?' Lee asked as he attempted to separate them. 'Something about rocks and parchment...'

'Rock, Paper, Scissors,' said Fred and George, grinning widely. They had learned the rules weeks ago in the hope that they would be able to use it in a real life situation.

A small crowd gathered around and watched curiously as Fred and George stood across from each other, feet apart and right hands formed into a fist as they began to chant. It was a hard fought match; in which the twins comically managed to choose the same hand signals several times in a row - and also much slowed by the people watching who had begun arguing about why paper could beat rock.

In the end however, Fred chose paper and George chose scissors.

'Sorry Forge, looks like you'll be guarding it,' said George as he made a cutting motion on Fred's open hand. 'I'll send some people over when we have spares.'

'No need, Gred,' said Fred gloomily. 'It should only be me that gets mentioned later for vainly looking at my perfect self in the mirror during an important battle.' He clapped George on the back and nodded at Lee before he turned the corner and trudged up the stairs towards the fourth floor.

x

Amycus walked almost soundlessly along the fourth floor corridors and cautiously peered around every corner. He knew that the war had yet to start but he was also aware there would be guards stationed at each entrance to Hogwarts. This would most likely include the secret passages, which could be concealed on any of the floors.

Suddenly, he came to an abrupt halt and flattened himself against the wall – a boy was leaning against a rather large mirror. He was facing away from Amycus, but his instantly recognisable flaming red hair indicated his Weasley heritage. Amycus wondered if he could be so lucky as to have found the very same Weasley boy that was rumoured to travel with Harry Potter. His mouth curled into a cruel smile as he pointed his wand towards the boy and whispered '_Petrificus Totalus.' _

The boy startled and began to turn, but the spell hit him square in the back and his arms were immediately wrenched to his sides. He then fell to the ground, and remained still. Amycus sidled forward and knelt beside him to pull out - rather roughly - a few of the boy's red hairs, before dropping them into a flask he conjured from his robes. When Snape had handed him the flask a few days prior he had sneered at him and thought him over-cautious. Now though, he thought he understood the necessity of keeping such things handy.

The potion frothed and bubbled before turning a brilliant sky blue. Amycus drained every last drop from the flask and grimaced at the taste. He felt the potion spread through his body and watched his skin bubble like melted wax. He watched as his body transformed until it was an exact replica of the boy's on the floor. In regards to size, he found that his shoes still fit fine, as did the clothes underneath his robes. However the robes themselves he would have to change regardless - they were completely different from the boy's.

However, taking the robes from the boy proved more difficult than he thought - the body binding curse made it almost impossible. By the time he had changed, he heard someone coming up the stairs. From what he could tell they were still far off but he could take no chances.

Although he had originally planned to dispose of the boy, he realised the flash of blinding green light may cause suspicion and that there was no place to put the body. Casting his eyes around, he noticed the large mirror the boy had been standing at. Could it be there was a secret passage...?

He hastily pulled aside the mirror and discovered the caved-in passageway: where there was just enough space for the boy and Amycus' discarded robes to be hidden within. He used magic to lift the boy's body into the space and as a last measure, snatched the boy's wand from his frozen hand. He was relieved when the boy was safely sealed away, and felt comforted when he realised that the boy would most likely starve to death.

Then a voice called 'Fred!' and Amycus glanced up. He did his best to act casual as the figure advanced towards him. The man was thin and tall, with horn-rimmed glasses and red hair similar to the boy's. Amycus assumed he was one of the boy's brothers. 'Or is it George?' the man asked uncertainly as he neared Amycus. 'Oh, right it's you Fred, I can see both your ears.'

Amycus briefly considered placing the man under the Imperius curse but dismissed the thought; it was too risky if he resisted. As he was about to reply he felt an odd tugging feeling in his mind, which he quickly managed to suppress.

'Anyway, I came to help you guard the passageway,' the man continued, smiling. He appeared not to have noticed anything odd about Amycus at all.

'This particular passage... I don't think it needs guarding,' Amycus replied, forcing himself to smile as he did so. 'We should be helping Harry Potter instead.' As soon as the sentence had left his lips he mentally cursed himself - he should have said merely 'Harry' not 'Harry Potter'.

However to his great surprise the man said nothing of it and merely nodded. 'That probably would be more useful. George said nothing much would be happening here anyway.' He paused for a moment. 'I think Harry's up on the seventh floor.'

'Let's go then,' Amycus said, hoping the man didn't notice he hadn't once used his name. They began to walk down the corridor but Amycus paused as the odd tugging sensation returned. He recognised it this time, as someone trying to enter his mind.

'Coming?' the man asked, looking at him worriedly.

Amycus managed to push away the attacker once more and nodded in reply.

x

Fred was furious with himself. How could he have been so foolish as to let his guard down? Despite his attempts to ignore it, fear was beginning to spread through his body. Although the spell would wear off eventually, he didn't much fancy being found by Death Eaters on the off-chance that they did decide to use the passage. He also had no wand to defend himself with. No, he must place all his hope in the Revelation Robes - if they couldn't save him, nothing could.

He attempted once more to control the mind of Amycus, only to be pushed back rather forcefully. He and George had invented the Revelation Robes no more than a week ago, not much liking the possibility that they could be impersonated. They were supposed to work as an advanced corporeal form of the Imperius curse, which would allow the owner of the robes to enter the mind of the impersonator (as long as they were wearing them) giving them the means to alert allies or otherwise ruin the enemy's plans. However, they had yet to test them out, which meant that Fred was uncertain of their reliability.

He tried again. This time, he pictured himself as Amycus. He felt Amycus attempt to fend him off, but Fred managed to fight back. He wasn't prepared for what came next - an odd, light-headed feeling, before he was standing next to Percy in what he recognised was one of the seventh floor corridors. For a moment he wondered if he had perhaps managed to apparate, but no, it was impossible (as Hermione often liked to remind them). A quick check of his clothing revealed he was wearing the Revelation Robes, which meant he had somehow taken over Amycus' body. He quickly became excited when he thought of the possibilities such a thing would bring; he couldn't wait to tell George what they had actually made.

'Are you alright?' Percy asked, looking at him oddly.

Fred was just about to tell Percy everything, but then the sound of dark, cold laughter drifted through the corridor. A group of hooded and masked figures turned the corner and immediately began throwing curses their way. The battle had begun at last.

Fred decided he could explain things to Percy later and ducked behind a pillar. 'It's a good thing they have such bad aim, right Perce?' Fred said loudly as he directed a Jelly-Fingers curse towards an advancing Death Eater, who dropped his wand. 'Although I have to admit, they're quite light on their feet,' he added as he jinxed another nearby enemy, who began dancing uncontrollably around the room.

In no time at all, Fred and Percy managed to disarm the majority of the advancing Death Eaters, however the several remaining were forcing them back into another corridor.

But then Harry, Ron and Hermione appeared next to them and sent yet more spells flying at the Death Eaters. Just as Fred and Harry managed to stun another of the hooded figures, the man duelling Percy narrowly dodged a spell, causing his hood to slip back. They were all shocked to discover the man was in fact the Minister of Magic.

Percy recovered quickly, and yelled a greeting to him as he hit him squarely with a jinx. 'I'm resigning, you know?' he added casually, as he watched Thicknesse drop to the floor.

'Perce, you actually made a joke!' Fred shouted as he continued to battle with the Death Eaters. He watched on happily as Thicknesse began to turn into a rather spiky sea urchin.

'I can't believe you actually _made a joke_! You haven't done that since –'

There was an explosion and Fred was wrenched back into his own body. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the darkness he realised he was still concealed within the passageway. He sat up slowly and was glad to note that the curse had worn off and he could now stretch his arms; which had been rather uncomfortable bound to his side. Weak and tired as he was, he knew he wouldn't be able to control Amycus again.

He mustered the strength to stand and pushed against the mirror. It shifted only an inch at most and would go no further. Fred sank to the ground, panting. There was something blocking it, which meant he was trapped until someone came to find him: unlikely, considering he hadn't managed to tell Percy or any of the others. Not to mention he had left them at the mercy of Amycus Carrow.

x

Harry had just finished explaining to Ron and Hermione about the Elder Wand, and how it would cause much more trouble than it was worth. With relief, he noted they understood what he meant and would of course keep it a secret. He was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to eat and then sleep. 'I think we've all had a lifetime's worth of trouble,' he said. 'Hopefully no more will find us anytime soon.'

Hermione nodded understandingly at Harry. 'Yes, it would be nice to have a break – at least for a while. Don't you agree, Ron?'

'Oh, definitely,' Ron answered, with a somewhat strained smile, clearly still dwelling on the potential of the wand.

'Well, I'm going back down to see everyone. Are you two coming?'

Harry started to say that he was going to sleep in Gryffindor Tower but was interrupted by Ron. 'We'll meet you down there soon, Hermione,' he glanced at Harry. 'I just need to talk to Harry first.'

Hermione's gaze slid over both of them but she didn't say anything. She merely embraced each of them in turn and left the Headmaster's study.

'Erm... What did you want to talk to me about?' Harry asked when the sound of Hermione's footsteps had faded.

'Well...' Ron began, looking uncomfortable. 'Me and Hermione... When we kissed, it was a spur of the moment thing. And now that the battle's over, I... I don't know what to say to her. I mean, it wouldn't work out, would it?' He looked desperately at Harry.

'I guess it'd be a bit odd,' Harry said finally, unsure of what Ron wanted him to say. 'But it could still work.'

'But we fight almost every day!' Ron exclaimed suddenly, making Harry jump. 'Imagine what it would be like if we were actually in a relationship...' He had a distinct look of horror etched upon his face.

'I guess you'll just have to tell her,' said Harry, slightly bewildered.

'I guess so,' Ron answered glumly.

x

Hermione gently knelt next to George, who was clutching his lifeless twin's hand tightly. The rest of the Weasleys had reluctantly left earlier, having volunteered to help with the numerous tasks waiting to be done.

George's eyes were red and vacant, at the stage where no more tears could fall, so Hermione cried for both of them. She watched her tears drip onto Fred's arm, where his sleeve was slightly pulled back, exposing a faint red mark on his skin.

Hermione blinked. With shaking hands, she pulled back Fred's sleeve to expose an outline of a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth - the Dark Mark. She turned to George, wide-eyed, and carefully nudged him to get his attention. They both watched in horror as Fred's body began to change: his hairline receded and his red hair was replaced with black. His face became that of a doughy, unpleasantly small-eyed man's.

'Isn't that Amycus Carrow?' Hermione managed to choke out.

'Fred... Where's Fred?!' George yelled in a hoarse voice. He bent down and began shaking the body of Amycus Carrow. 'Where's my brother?!' he shouted at the lifeless form, as if he expected an answer.

'George, calm down!' said Hermione, seizing him by the shoulders. 'We should tell the others.' But as they desperately look around, it became apparent that there was no one else to confer with, only the peaceful silence of fallen loved ones filled the room.

'Where was Fred positioned in the battle?' Hermione asked urgently, turning back to George.

'He was...' George began, swallowing. 'He was supposed to be guarding the passageway behind the mirror on the fourth floor.' He paused to think. 'We sent him there alone to begin with. Could something have happened then...?' George's eyes held the slightest glimmer of hope. He turned and sprinted out of the room, closely followed by Hermione. They both glanced around the hall to get their bearings, before they hurried along the corridor and began to climb the staircase.

Their pace slowed several times as they paused to clear away chunks of wall and railing which were in their way. By the time they reached the fourth floor they were covered in dust. Hermione clutched a stitch as she followed George, who hurtled around the corner and came to a halt where a wall had been blasted apart.

'It's blocked,' George stated, grimly. Hermione hoped Fred wasn't buried underneath the rubble.

'Should we...' she began, but George cut her off.

'Hermione, help me shift this,' he said, and gestured to the mess in front of them. 'If Fred is trapped in there we don't have time to call anyone else.' He pointed slightly to their left, 'The mirror should be about here.' They both pulled out their wands.

They worked slowly and steadily, careful not to cause a landslide. It took longer than they had hoped to shift the rubble - George yelled out for his brother the entire time - but Hermione saved her strength. When at last they had cleared away the final piece, George rushed forward and pulled back the mirror.

Hermione was afraid to look. She was quite sure George wouldn't be able to bear it if he lost his twin a second time. Her heart lifter however, when she heard a familiar voice say: 'Took you long enough.' She raised her head, just in time to see a relieved George pull his (slightly dishevelled looking) twin out from behind the mirror and embrace him.

'You're ok then, Fred?' Hermione asked, anxiously looking at the twins.

'If you don't count the mental scarring I experienced witnessing that ugly git's face morph into my handsome one - perfectly fine,' he replied, grinning. Hermione tried to ask him how he had come to be trapped but a choked sob was all she could manage. As she attempted to wipe away her tears, Fred strode forwards and put his arms around her. She clung to him tightly as a way of reassuring herself that it wasn't a dream, and tried to ignore how her heart was racing - she firmly told herself that such feelings were inappropriate after what had happened between her and Ron.

After a few minutes George loudly cleared his throat and Hermione blushingly released herself from the embrace. Fred however, didn't seem fazed and snaked his arm around her waist, drawing her closer to him.

'So what happened then?' George asked curiously. Fred immediately launched into the story of how he had been trapped behind the mirror, and how the Revelation Robes hadn't worked exactly as they had planned. He talked in a relaxed manner, the only indication that he had been worried, even for a second, was the way he clung to Hermione and George and refused to let them go.

'Imagine how much we could sell those robes for,' George said excitedly when Fred had finished.

'You can't sell something like that in your shop! It could fall into the wrong hands!' Hermione exclaimed disapprovingly.

'It's ok Hermione, we'll just put them in the restricted section - VIP customers only,' said Fred, winking.

'Restricted section?' Hermione asked, bewildered. Fred and George began to explain at the same time but Hermione cut them off. 'I don't want to know,' she said sternly, silencing them at once.

Then Fred asked about the battle. Hermione and George did their best to explain what had happened. It took longer than it should have, as George kept adding in things that didn't happen to make Fred laugh - like Voldemort tripping over Nagini mid-sentence and landing on his face. Eventually, with a grim tone, Hermione told Fred about the death of Lupin and Tonks.

'That bloody snake-faced ghost and his disciples.' Fred swore colourfully, and George reached over to defend Hermione's ears from most of it. She batted him away with an annoyed look.

'We should go downstairs, everyone thinks you're _dead_,' Hermione said, but her voice cracked on the last word. She felt tears begin to form in her eyes again.

'Don't worry, Hermione,' said Fred, grinning as he and George placed their arms on her shoulders.

'We know how to make an entrance,' George finished.

x

Hermione had to admit, she felt nervous when they began to head towards the Room of Requirement. Mainly because she was unsure of what they would find after the Fiendfyre had raged throughout it. She was therefore extremely relieved when the twins opened the ornate double door that appeared - to reveal what looked like a prankster's supply closet - and there were no fiery beasts in sight.

'Come on, Hermione,' Fred said not unkindly, and began to tug her forwards when she lingered in the hall.

'We're not planning anything too elaborate,' George promised, winking.

Hermione sighed and began inspecting some extremely odd garments which were hanging on a nearby clothes rack. From what she could tell they were not average costumes like muggles wore to parties. Each one was bewitched in some way; she withdrew her hand from the rack when the wings on a particularly glittery costume began to open and close.

'We should've thought of this earlier,' George said, looking forlornly around the seemingly endless room. 'Imagine the pranks we could've pulled.' At this, he pulled out a particularly grim looking costume that looked suspiciously like a Dementor - complete with a full face mask.

'Yes, well, I'm surprised it's still here after the Fiendfyre,' Hermione said wonderingly.

'Fiendfyre?' Fred asked, sounding impressed. 'You didn't tell us about that.'

'I'd rather not think about it,' she answered decisively, holding back a shudder as she forced away the image of the flaming beasts that had descended upon them.

'Found it!' Fred called suddenly. There was a slight pause before he emerged from one of the rows of costumes, holding up a familiar silvery-grey cloak.

'An invisibility cloak?' Hermione asked, horrified. The twins caused enough trouble without the help of invisibility.

'Precisely,' said George, as if it all made perfect sense. 'We just need a few more supplies and then we'll be ready to go.' The twins pulled Hermione further into the room.

x

Hermione sat in the Great Hall at what had formerly been the Gryffindor table, trying not to fidget. Fred and George had insisted that she be there, although she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to watch. She changed her mind however, when she looked around the Hall - whatever the twins were planning might provide some much-needed laughter. While it would be untrue to say the Great Hall had a depressing mood, there was a certain dreariness present underneath the celebration that stemmed from the loss of many loved ones.

Ron and Harry sat across from her. Ron was (as usual) shovelling food into his mouth, although it didn't look like his heart was in it. Harry looked pale and merely played with the piece of treacle tart on his plate. Despite this, both emanated the same glow of relief that came with knowing that the people they had fought for were safe at last.

Ginny appeared and sat down next to Hermione, offering her a strained smile. Hermione tried to return it, but it came out more as a grimace. She wanted so badly to tell Ron and Ginny that Fred was alive, but the twins had made her promise to keep it secret. She felt even worse still when she noted that Ginny's eye were red and swollen from crying - though felt slightly better when they lit up at the sight of Harry. They all exchanged greetings before falling into a comfortable silence.

Hermione could _almost_ convince herself that it was just another day at Hogwarts, although she couldn't recall that Ron had ever stared open-mouthed at his plate before, a forkful of cake halfway to his lips. All four of them watched in astonishment as Ron's plate - piled high with desserts- lifted from the table and disappeared. The next minute, a large bang sounded, followed by others, startling the occupants of the Great Hall. They all looked around in alarm as fireworks zoomed throughout the hall, shape-shifting into stars and releasing flaming confetti into the air. Entire cakes lifted themselves off the table and began dancing on newly-formed feet. Numerous pygmy puffs burst out from underneath the tables, some climbing up to join the dancing desserts.

Amidst all the chaos, yet more fireworks were set off at the head of the Great Hall. A particularly large firework burst to spell out 'THE FAMOUS DUO IS BACK' just above the Weasley twins, who had discarded their invisibility cloak and were happily sharing Ron's plate of desserts. They grinned when the formerly dancing cakes began fighting each other, sending multiple dishes flying.

'Fred!' Ron yelled as he stood from his seat at the table - narrowly avoiding a nasty fight between a raspberry mousse cake and a tiramisu - and ran to his brother, closely followed by Harry and Ginny.

Hermione stayed seated as more of their friends surrounded the twins. She felt awful for having withheld information from them. Even more so when Ron and Ginny overcame their surprise and hardened their tones, making it clear they were annoyed with the twins. Hermione decided she would rather not watch, and returned her gaze to the table, just in time to rescue a quivering pygmy puff from being trampled by a rather aggressive carrot cake.

'I've never liked carrot cakes,' Fred stated matter-of-factly, taking a seat next to Hermione. She stared at him in surprise and glanced at the front of the hall where George had been left at the mercy of Ron and Ginny. 'They're just a convenient way for adults to force-feed their children vegetables.'

Hermione couldn't contain the smile that tugged at her lips. 'What are you doing here?' she asked, confused.

'Just being grateful I'm not starving to death,' Fred replied, his eyes sparkling. Then he leaned forward and kissed her. Warmth spread throughout her body and she felt butterflies in her stomach - it was much more pleasant than kissing Ron had been. When they finally pulled apart they were both smiling. Fred winked at her before he stood and returned to his twin. She gazed after him dreamily until she felt eyes on her: Ron. She flushed and looked down; _how could she have forgotten about Ron?_

Thankfully, she was spared from further scrutiny when the doors of the Great Hall burst open and a distressed Mrs Weasley walked in, followed by an equally panicked Mr Weasley. Percy trailed miserably behind them, his horn-rimmed glasses slightly askew.

'Fred's body... We can't find it,' Mr Weasley said in a heartbroken voice, as Mrs Weasley wailed beside him.

Hermione hurriedly stood and was just about to tell them everything, when she heard footsteps coming towards them. Fred and George stepped in front of a wide-eyed Mrs Weasley.

'I'm right here, Mum,' Fred said softly. Mrs Weasley gave a strangled sob before she lurched forward and hugged Fred tightly. Percy rushed forward to embrace Fred too. Mr Weasley just stared in shock as tears of happiness formed in his eyes.

Fred tried to say something, but couldn't quite manage as Mr Weasley had joined in on the group hug.

'Where's Bill and Charlie?' George asked for him.

'I'll send them a message,' said Mr Weasley happily as he temporarily released Fred so that he could send two glimmering weasel patronuses through the walls.

George turned to Hermione, grinning. 'I don't know about you Granger, but I'm feeling a little left out.' Hermione laughed.

When Bill and Charlie arrived, they all sat around Fred at the Gryffindor table. He shared his story - in between mouthfuls of food at the insistence of Mrs Weasley - and often with the help of Hermione and George, who were seated on his right side (Mrs Weasley had refused to budge from his left). The twins carefully omitted the Revelation Robes from the story for - as George had hurriedly whispered to Hermione - they were something best left alone. They also had a suspicion that Mrs Weasley (having got over her shock) may not have been completely pleased.

'If it weren't for Hermione and my slightly less handsome twin, I might still be stuck behind the mirror,' Fred finished, draping his arm casually around Hermione; who blushed.

'I'm still mad at you,' said Ron from across the table, throwing the twins a disgusted look.

'Wouldn't have been worth it if you weren't,' said Fred, rolling his eyes.

Ron's gaze slid over Hermione and came to a rest where Fred's hand was placed about her shoulder. Hermione fidgeted nervously with the cutlery.

'Hermione, can I talk to you for a minute?' Ron asked, his expression unreadable. It seemed only Fred noticed when she left the table; he squeezed her hand reassuringly.

x

Outside the Great Hall, Hermione stood nervously across from Ron. She didn't know what to say and she definitely didn't want to hurt his feelings.

Ron cleared his throat. 'About earlier when we kissed...' he paused and seemed to gather his courage. 'I think it was a bloody awful idea.'

'What?' Hermione asked, incredulous.

Ron looked even more uncomfortable. 'Well... We have enough disagreements as it is. If we were in a relationship, I don't think it would work.' He said the last part confidently, lifting up his head.

'Yes, I've been thinking the same thing actually,' she answered sheepishly - Ron looked noticeably relieved. 'We let the desperation we felt during the battle influence us.'

Ron nodded, looking slightly awkward as he said: 'And... If you like Fred... I want you to know it's okay.' He cleared his throat before glancing up at her.

'Thank you,' she said, grateful he wasn't hurt. She wanted to leave it there but ended up blurting out, 'I've only just realised but I think I liked him all along. I figured out a while ago that even though they look the same, Fred and George are so different. It's always been difficult to take my eyes off Fred and I always had a feeling that he understood me.' She couldn't hold back the smile that came at the thought of Fred.

Ron shuffled his feet. 'So, friends?'

'Of course,' she answered with a smile.

x

When they returned to the table, Mr and Mrs Weasley were saying a heartfelt farewell; the surviving Death Eaters were being moved to Azkaban and they had volunteered to help. Bill and Charlie had already left to move the body of Amycus Carrow into the room where Tom Riddle and his followers' bodies lay. Although Bill and Fleur remained, they were seated somewhat further away, and in their own world it seemed. Which left the twins, Harry, Ginny and Ron contentedly betting on the now drowsy and sluggish cakes, who were still fighting. Everyone looked immeasurably tired but Hermione understood their refusal to sleep, their time together seemed even more precious than usual after the battle had also cost them their lives.

Mrs Weasley hugged Hermione as she was leaving and offered her a teary yet grateful smile. When the doors of the Great Hall had closed the twins pulled Hermione into the seat between them and looked at her expectantly.

'What did he say?' George asked in a hushed tone when Hermione had remained quiet.

'He said our relationship wouldn't have worked out,' Hermione surrendered, the twins always knew everything.

'It worked,' Fred mouthed, grinning at George.

'What worked?' Hermione asked as anger seeped into her tone. She narrowed her eyes at them but they refused to meet her gaze. She gasped. 'You kissed me in front of Ron on purpose didn't you?'

'Shhh!' the twins said at once, making sure Ron was still oblivious to their conversation.

'It was the only way he would tell you how he really felt,' said Fred cautiously.

'Think about it,' said George. 'Neither of you would have been able to say anything if you thought it would break the other's heart.'

'You wouldn't have been happy with him.'

'That's not the point,' Hermione said through gritted teeth. She had let herself believe Fred liked her - even blurted out things to Ron - when it had all just been another one of the twins' plans. Suddenly, she felt drained and empty.

'Hermione?' Fred gently placed his hands on either side of her face and forced her to look at him. She did not, however, respond.

'I think she's broken,' George said worriedly, and began shaking her.

Fred pushed his twin away and turned back to Hermione. 'When I kissed you it wasn't a joke,' he said sincerely. 'I was so relieved when you told Ron I was better than him.' He grinned.

'I never said that!' Hermione fumed.

'Well, the equivalent then,' George said, reappearing with an Extendable Ear.

'Don't worry, we only heard the end,' Fred said, becoming panicked when he saw the look Hermione was giving him. Numerous curses she would have liked to use ran through her head, but instead of voicing one aloud - which would have only been too easy - she merely stood and stormed out of the Great Hall.

'Hermione, wait!' Fred caught up to her within minutes. When she didn't stop he placed his hands firmly on her shoulders and turned her towards him. She glared venomously, but on the inside she felt like crying.

'I really do mean it.' She had never seen him look so serious, or so sad. He pulled her to him, holding her tightly in his arms. 'I was worried I wouldn't see you again.'

'Me too,' Hermione said into his chest, she couldn't stay mad at him.

'Forgive him then?' asked an amused George as he leant against a nearby wall.

'For now,' she answered, smiling.

'How did it go?' Fred asked George, back to his usual mischievous self.

'How did _what _go?' Hermione asked suspiciously.

The twins glanced at each other nervously before answering. 'We may have fed some pygmy puffs our Enlarging Entrees.'

'We only wanted to give them a chance against the cakes,' Fred added quickly.

'They turned out a bit more vicious than we thought,' said George rather sheepishly.

Hermione couldn't help it - she laughed. The twins watched her oddly before following as she marched back into the Great Hall.

x

_Nineteen Years Later..._

Hermione stood alongside Ron and watched as the Hogwarts Express pulled away from Kings Cross Station. She heard footsteps behind her and turned as Fred appeared through the mist and strode quickly towards them. He managed to wave goodbye to their daughter Rose before the train disappeared around a corner.

'Honestly Fred, people are going to start thinking I'm married to Ron if you insist on coming late all the time,' said Hermione crossly.

'It's ok Hermione, they already have,' Fred said soothingly. 'Remember Rita Skeeter's Quidditch World Cup article two years ago?'

'That horrible woman,' Hermione hissed. 'She also said you were dead.'

Fred laughed. 'That's because she believed it. I'll never forget her face when I showed up after the match.'

Hermione gave him a look and he cleared his throat. 'Sorry I was late but we really needed to meet that supplier.'

Hermione sighed. 'You did still manage to get here I suppose,' she admitted, her lips twitching into a smile.

'Of course I did,' Fred said, before turning to Ron. 'Don't you _ever_ have anywhere else to be? You have your own kids, stop trying to steal mine.'

'They're with Lavender's mother,' said Ron, looking somewhat depressed. He picked up Hugo - who had been arguing with Lily about whether or not Hogwarts had ghosts - and started to tell them about Nearly-Headless Nick.

'Well that was a relief,' said Harry, appearing with Ginny.

'Did you give the Marauder's Map to James yet, Harry?' Fred asked, grinning.

'Only because he said he was having trouble finding the one-eyed witch passage,' said Harry sheepishly, glancing at an unamused Ginny.

'Right... I'm sure,' said a suddenly-present George, his arm around Angelina.

'Our children will still be at an advantage,' said Fred and George together.

'We gave them an extensive run-down of all the passages we know of,' said Fred.

'And we told them about the Room of Requirement,' said George happily.

'_What?_' Hermione asked, although she knew she shouldn't be surprised. 'You told Rose how to sneak into Honeydukes?! It's her first year, she should be studying!'

They all gave Hermione a knowing smile.

'Don't worry, she's smart enough to know how to multitask,' Fred said, and Hermione couldn't help smiling; Rose _was _extremely clever. 'Come on love, let's go home.' Fred entwined his hand in Hermione's and stole Hugo back from Ron with a warning glare. The mist wrapped itself around the happy couple as they walked back through the wall between platforms 9 and 10.

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